Because the premiere of the HIGHSPEED Étoile racing anime looms, the venture may even carry its presence to real-life race tracks in 2024 within the type of HIGHSPEED Étoile Racing run by Platinum Manufacturing facility Co., Ltd. The crew hopes to develop and help feminine drivers, which shall be mirrored of their inaugural lineup of Kotomi Maeda and Ai Shimizu. Kohta Kawaai, the 2023 Tremendous GT champion within the GT300 class, will function crew director.
Growth of the crew started final fall earlier than scouting drivers. Platinum Manufacturing facility CEO Ryūtarō Nakagawa defined, “We not solely need to create alternatives for girls to play an energetic position, however we additionally need to create an surroundings the place drivers can develop alongside the anime characters.”
Maeda and Shimizu will primarily compete within the all-women Kyojo Cup and co-ed Fuji Champion Race. Each collection completely race Vita-01 automobiles at Fuji Speedway, primarily on the identical weekend; they may start their 2024 seasons collectively on 11/12 Might, although the FCR is 4 rounds lengthy whereas the Kyojo Cup spans six occasions. HSE Racing’s Vita-01 was revealed Tuesday, that includes protagonist Rin Rindoh and Kanata Asakawa on each side of the livery. Fuji Speedway, albeit a futuristic rendition, is certainly one of seven precise circuits that can seem within the present.
The crew additionally plans to subject electrical automobiles within the All Japan EV-GP Sequence and All Japan Karting Championship‘s EV division. Their début will come at Tsukuba Circuit with the All Japan EV-GP Sequence on 27 April. The All Japan Karting Championship season begins at Metropolis Circuit Tokyo Bay on 2 June.
Maeda, who works at a automobile dealership, started kart racing when she was 21 years outdated. Shimizu was beforehand a monitor and subject sprinter who turned a truck driver.
Kawaai completed third within the 2019 F4 Japanese Championship earlier than transferring to Tremendous GT, the place he raced a Toyota GR Supra within the GT300 class for Inexperienced Courageous. After putting runner-up within the 2020 standings, he and Hiroki Yoshida gained the 2023 title with a pair of race wins at Sportsland Sugo and Autopolis. Seita Nonaka changed Kawaai at Inexperienced Courageous for the 2024 season, and Kawaai plans to compete within the greater GT500 division as a reserve or in Tremendous Method.
HIGHSPEED Étoile was created in 2022 as a multimedia venture to have fun Tremendous Method’s fiftieth anniversary. The anime’s pilot episode will air on 5 April.
